Work operator for welding mechanism



May 1948- J. M. PATTERSON I 2,440,697

WORK OPERATOR FOR WELDING MECHANISM Filed March 3, 1945 a az/A/L/EA/7OE: JQMES MPATTERSO/v' f/As fiTroRA/E K Patented May 4, 1948WORK OPERATOR FOR WELDING MECHANISM James M. Patterson, Jennings, Mo.,assignor to Central Mine Equipment Co., St. Louis, Mo., a corporation ofMissouri Application March 3, 1945, Serial No. 580,757

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a work operator for welding mechanism; and ithas special reference to an apparatus for supporting and rotating acylindrical work-piece about its axis during welding of a spiral flightor other circumferential part to said cylindrical work-piece.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for supporting androtating a cylindrical work-piece adjacent to a welding mechanism whilea spiral flight or other circumferential part is being welded to saidwork-piece by welding material fed thereto through said weldingmechanism; to move said welding mechanism along said work-piece andspiral flight during the welding of said spiral flight to saidwork-piece; and to prevent displacement of said welding mechanism duringwelding of any other circumferential part to said work-piece notrequiring movement of said welding mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus comprisingtwo axially spaced gripper elements for engaging and supporting betweenthem a cylindrical auger or conveyor section having thereon andextending axially through a spiral flight having its inner peripheraledge contacting with the outer peripheral surface of said auger orconveyor section, mechanism for rotating one of said gripper elementsand thereby rotating said auger or conveyor section and said spiralflight in cooperative relationship to an adjacent welding mechanism forWelding said spiral flight to said auger section or conveyor while saidsection and said spiral flight are continuously rotating, and meanscooperating with said spiral flight for moving said welding mechanism ina plane parallel with the axis of rotation of said auger section orconveyor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forcooperatievly controlling rotary movement of a cylindrical auger orconveyor section and a spiral flight thereon during the operation ofwelding said spiral flight thereto, and for effecting integral weldattachment of said flight to said section by a weld having acontinuously smooth surface substantially free from indentations,projections and other surface irregularities, to facilitate the movementof material along said flight during rotation thereof, in its intendeduse, and to obtain a better weld attachment than is possible by manualmanipulation.

Other objects will appear from the following description, referencebeing made to the annexed drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevationof my improved work operator for welding mechanism having a cylindricalauger or conveyor section and a spiral flight or rib on said auger orconveyor section mounted in said work operator for rotation duringaction and operation of said welding mechanism, parts being shown insection.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the supports for the tworotative gripper elements by which a cylindrical auger or conveyor partis engaged, supported and rotated, with a spiral flight thereon, duringoperation of the welding mechanism, bearings for the shafts of saidgripper elements and a portion of said cylindrical part being shown insection.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of my improved work operator for weldingmechanism, showing a motor and connections driven by said motor forrotating one of the work supporting gripper elements.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line 44 of Fig. 2, showing areleasable and movable support for one of the two work supportinggripper elements.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, showing one worksupporting gripper element supporting and gripping a cylindrical augeror conveyor section.

The modification of the invention shown in the drawing is an apparatusfor supporting and operating, by rotation, a cylindrical Work-pieceadjacent to a movable welding mechanism while a spiral flight or othercircumferential part is being welded and integrally united to saidworkpiece by a weld applied and aflixed by said welding mechanism, andfor moving said welding mechanism along said work-piece and spiralflight during the welding operation, and for preventing movement of saidwelding mechanism during welding of any other circumferential part tosaid cylindrical work-piece when no movement of said welding mechanismis needed or required.

An electric welding machine I of known construction is supported forlongitudinal movements in a plane parallel with the longitudinal axis ofa rotative cylindrical auger or conveyor section 2. The said rotativeauger or conveyor section 22 has thereon and extends axially through aspiral flight 3 having its inner peripheral edge contacting with theouter peripheral surface of said auger or conveyor section. The saidwelding machine I is supported by a truck comprising wheels 4 operatingon and along two spaced parallel rails 5 forming a supporting andguiding track. During operation of said welding machine. weldingcomposition is fed through a welding head 6 supported and carried. bythe welding machine I and having welding rod electrodes 1 adjacent tothe periphery of the cylindrical auger or conveyor section 2 near thejoint or line of contact 8 between said section 2 and the spiral flight3 thereon. Heretofore, in the manufacture of this type of rotary earthaugers, mining angers, and spiral conveyors, including said rotarysection 2 and said spiral flight 3, considerable dificulty has beenexperienced in effecting a proper welding attachment between said twoparts. It has been the general practice to effect said weldingattachment between said two parts manually, with the result thatgenerally it has been impossible to provide a continuously smoothsurface substantially free from indentations, projections and othersurface irregularities. manual Welding has been generally necessary, forthe reason that heretofore, it has been difficult or impossible to movean electric welding machine longitudinally with respect to thelongitudinal axis of an auger or conveyor section 2 automatically and asan incident'to' rotation of said section, Generally, it has beenimpossible to provide a welded connection attaching the spiral flight 3directly to the section I automatically and as an incident to therotation of said parts. The present invention provides a satisfactorysolution of this difficulty, and holds the welding machine I and theelectrodes -1 of the head 8 in proper position relative to the joint 3,regardless of any irregularities in and along the surface of saidsection 2, regardless of any irregularities in and along the innerperipheral portions of the spiral flight 3, and regardless of anyirregularities in the spiral formation of said night 3. By thisinvention, the welding machine is moved in synchronism with the spiralof the flight 3'v regardless of said irregularities, and regardless ofvariations in the pitch of said flight 3. For the attainmentof theseresults, the welding machine is equipped with a device 9 attached to andsupported by the head 6 and the shaft I of said welding machine. Thedevice 9 comprises rollers ;I l for operating on and along theperipheral surface of the auger orconveyor section '2, and also againstthe oppostie side of the spiral flight 3. from the electrodes], asdisclosed in my prior application Serial No. 553,822, filed Sep-' tember1 3, 194s. The said rollers I Itha-t operate on and along the peripheralsurface of the auger or conveyor section 2 positively hold theelectrodes l properly spaced away-from said surface, while the roller Hthat operates along and against the flight 3 functions to controlmovement of the welding machine I in synchronism with said flight 3. Anactuator is provided for'moving the welding machine I, and for holdingsaid roller ljl pressed against the opposite side of the spiral flight 3from the electrodes 1. The saidelectrodes I are thereby held'close tothe joint 8 for proper application of a weld integrally uniting thesection 2 and the flight 3, during movement of said welding machin I toits'initial position. In the modification of the invention shown,thecylindrical auger of conveyor section 2 is rotatedin the direction ofthe arrow 12, while said actuator, in cooperation with the device 9-operating against the flight '3, controls movement of the weldingmachine I in the direction of the arrow I3. The said actuator I4 mayconsist ofa section of rope or "cord. having one end attached-t0 thewelding machine I and the opposit'eiiend attached to a weight, while anintermediate portion ofsaid rope or cord engages-sheaves I5.

7 A gripper element I6- is attachedto ashaft I1 I5. Said rotativelyjournalled in bearings I 8 attached to a support I9 rigidly secured to abase 28. The shaft I1 is rotative in bearings l3, and is incapable ofsubstantial longitudinal displacement. A sprocket wheel 2| is attachedto the end of a shaft I'I opposite from the gripper element I 5, and isengaged by a sprocket chain 22 engaging and operated by a sprocket wheel23 in the direction of the arrow 24 (Fig, 3). The sprocket wheels 2| and23 and the sprocket chain 22 con stitute gearing for rotating the shaftH at the desired speed. The sprocket wheel 23 is attached to a studshaft 25 rotated by a motor 23 through a belt connectionfl] and familiarspeed reducing gearing enclosed within a gear box 23 in order to rotatethe shaft I1 and the gripper element It at the desired speed ofrotation.

A support 29, complementary to the support I9, is mounted for slidingmovements alon the base 20 toward and from said support I 9, Saidsupport 29 may be secured rigidly in any adjustment in which it is.placed on the base at by said sliding mov'ements'by a clamping setscrew 39 mounted i-n said support 19 for clamping engagement with saidbase. Ahandletl attached to the set screw 30 is operative to turn andset said set screw .in clamping engagement with the base 28 to hold the.support I9 from displacement, and to release said set screw to permitlonigtudinal sliding movement of said support 2'9 ro n and along saidbase zn-toward and from the rigid and immovable support l 9i Y A shaft32 is rotatively journalled in two spaced bearing '33 mounted on thesupport 29 and in axial alinernent with the shaft I'l. A gripper element3 complementary to the gripper element IE is attachedto the end of theshaft 32 that is toward the shaft I I and cooperates with said gripperelement I16 to engage, to support, and to rotate the cylindrical augeror conveyor section '2. In theform shown, sa'idcylindrical auger orconveyor section 2 is tubular, and the said gripper elements It and anengage in opposite ends. of said anger or conveyor section. Both gripperelements I -6. and an taper toward their adjacentends and both arepreferably polygonal in cross-section in. order to effect positivegripping engagement with the inner peripheries of the cylindrical and.tubular anger or conveyor section 2 when said gripperelementsare-extended into the endsof said section 2. It is evident thatthese gripper elements may :be of other form or shapeadapted to engageopposite end portions of WOlkePiGCCSV/hiCh arenot ofv hollow or tubularform, as is :the augerorconveyorsection 2, That is to say, any types ofgripper. devices for engaging, supporting and rotatinga 'WOI'kr-IlfiGCGmay be employed without departure from the invention. The shaft 32is'rotative, and is also movable longitudinally in said bearings. 33. Anantifriction thrust bearing :35 risrmountedionthe shaft 32 between thebearings 33, and engages against the inner side of that oneof saidbearings '33 that is most remote from the gripper element at. A strongcoiled spring 36 mounted on the shaft 32 has its. outer .endpressingagainst the inner raceway or ring of-said anti-friction bearing 35, andits inner end pressing against-a collar 3-1 rigidon said shaft 32, Thisleaves said'spring 33 rotative with the shaft 32 which is freelyrotative in the bearings 33, and also axially movable in said bearingsto-the extent permitted by said spring-3t and said collar 31. As shownin Figs. 1 and 2, the spring-3B is {held undercompress'ion by the collar31' which' is held away-from the adjacent bearing 33 by theg'ripperelement 34 engaging the outer end of the rotative andlongitudinally immovable work-piece 2.

The granular material used in welding by the welding machine I isconducted from a hopper 38 on said machine to the Welding head 6 andelectrodes I through a conduit 39. After being delivered onto thework-piece 2 at the electrodes 1, the remnants of said granular materialare caused to drop from the rotating work-piece 2 by gravity orotherwise into a receptacle provided to receive said material. As shown,said receptacle is in the form of a trough comprising two telescopingparts 40 and 4 I. The parts 40 and 4| extendone within the other and aremovable relatively in longitudinal directions in order to vary thelength of the trough receptacle formed by said two parts in conformitywith the length of the work-piece 2 that must be engaged, supported androtated by the gripper elements It and 34. As shown in Fig. 1, thework-piece 2 constituting an auger or conveyor section is of maximumlength and the two trough parts 43 and M are adjusted so that said augeror conveyor section 2 is wholly above the trough receptacle formed bysaid two parts 40 and 4|, This permits all of the granular material andother remnants of the weldingoperation to be deposited in said troughreceptacle from which said remnants may be removed and sifted, and theusable portions thereof used over and over again. As shown, the troughparts 43 and II are supported, respectively, by frame members 42 and 43movably mounted on the base 29.

In the use of this apparatus, the trough parts 40 and 4| are adjusted toform a trough of proper length for the work-piece that is to be engaged,supported and rotated by the gripper elements I6 and 34 in a weldingoperation. The set screw 30-3I is released to permit movement of thesupport 29 from and toward the support I9 in order to engage and supportthe work-piece with and by the two gripper elements I6 and 34. Thesupport 29 is moved to such a position toward the support I9 that thespring 36 is under some compression, with the collar 31 out ofengagement with and spaced from the adjacent bearing 33, leaving theshaft 32 freely and easily rotative. The electrodes I of the weldingmachine are electrically energized and the welding machine is operatedto feed the welding material to the electrodes I in synchronism with theoperation of the motor 26 to rotate the shaft I1 and thereby theattached gripper element I6, as well as the workpiece 2 engaged,supported and rotated by the gripper elements I6 and 34. Rotation ofsaid work-piece also rotates said gripper element 34 and the shaft 32,as well as the bearing 35, the spring 36 and the collar 31 that aresupported by said shaft 32. When a spiral flight 3 is to be attached toan auger or conveyor section, the roller II engaging said spiral flight3 controls movement of the welding machine in the direction of the arrowI3 by the actuator I4, while the rollers II on the surface of thework-piece 2 hold the electrodes 1 properly spaced from said auger orconveyor section. During this movement, the welding machine continuouslyoperates and functions, and a perfect weld 44 is formed at and along thejoint 3 integrally uniting the workpiece 2 and the spiral flight 3. Thisweld is continuously smooth, having a polished and glasslike surface,and is substantially free from indentations, projections and otherirregularities which generally and, I believe, invariably occur inwelding these parts by hand operation. After the welding has beencompleted along one side of the spiral flight 3, the set screw Bil-3| isreleased, the support 29, shaft 32 and gripper element 34 are moved in adirection away from the support I9 in order to release the work-pieceand permit its disengagement from both gripper elements I6 and 34. Whena weld is to be formed alon the opposite side of the spiral flight 3,the auger or conveyor section 2 is reversed end for end; that is to say,the end that had been engaged by the gripper element I3 is engaged withthe gripper element 34, and the end of said section 2 that had beenengaged with the gripper element 34 is engaged with the gripper elementI5. In the meantime, the welding mechanism I has been deenergized andreturned to its initial orstarting position at the right (Fig. 1)preparatory for another welding operation. Prior to removal and duringreplacement of the auger or conveyor section 2, the electric motor 25 isdeenergized and stopped, thereby stopping rotation of the shaft I1 andalso stopping rotation of the gripper elements It and 34 and of theauger or conveyor section 2 engaged and supported thereby. Both thewelding mechanism 5 and the motor 26 remain deenergized untilreplacement of the auger or conveyor section 2 has been completed, asabove described. Then electrical energy is supplied to the weldingelectrodes I of said weldin mechanism, and the motor 26 also isenergized and started, with the result that a smooth and polished weld44 is applied to the side of the spiral flight 3 opposite from that onwhich the weld 44 had been applied during the first Welding operation.When it is not desired to apply a weld such as the weld 44 to theopposite side of the part being welded to a work-piece, said Work-pieceis not reversed end for end in connection with the gripper elements I6and 34, as above described, but is removed therefrom.

From the foregoing, it is evident that this invention supports androtates a work-piece during operation of the welding machine while aspiral flight or other circumferential part is being integrally attachedto said work-piece by a weld having a smooth, polished and nearlyglasslike surface; that the welding machine is moved along thework-piece and spiral flight during welding of said spiral flight tosaid work-piece by the roller II that operates against said spiralflight; and that said roller II will prevent displacement of the weldingmachine during the Welding of any circumferential part of different formwhich does not require movement of said welding machine. The inventionmay be varied as widely in its construction, as the scope of equivalentswill permit, without departure from the nature and principle thereof asdefined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, two axially alined spacedgripper elements for engaging, supporting and rotating a cylindricalauger or conveyor section in synchronism with a spiral flight about saidsection, mechanism for rotating one of said gripper elements and therebysaid section and said other gripper element, a device for holding saidother gripper element in difierent respective adjusted positions towardand from said one gripper element that is rotated by said mechanism, aspring for actuating one of said two gripper elements into engagementwith said auger or conveyor section mounted between said two gripperelements, and a traveling 7 welding mechanism for applying a weld alongthe'joint between said section and said spiral flight during rotation ofsaid sections and said flight, said" welding mechanism having a partengaging said spiral flight for controlling travel of the weldingmechanism in accordance with the rotationof said spiral flight.

2. An apparatus of the character described for supporting and rotating acylindricalwork-piece, comprising two axially alined spaced shafts,gripper: elements attached to adjacent ends of said shafts for engaging,supporting and rotating a cylindrical auger or conveyor section insynchronism with a spiral flight about said section, means forsupporting said shafts for rotation in different spaced distances apartfor engaging said gripper elements with auger or conveyor sections ofdifferent respective lengths, a spring for actuating one of said: shaftsin the direction of the other shaft, mechanism for rotating one of saidshafts and thereby said auger and conveyor section and said othershaft,. and traveling welding mechanism for applying a weld along thejoint between said section and said spiral flight during rotation ofsaid section and 25 Number 3. ,An' apparatus of the character described,comprising two axially alined spaced shafts, gripper elements attachedto adjacent ends ofsaid shafts for engaging, supporting and rotating acylindrical auger or conveyor section in synchronism with a spiralflight about said section, electric mechanism for rotating one of saidgripper elements and thereby said. section and said other gripperelement, a spring actuating said other gripper element into engagementwith said section, a movable welding mechanism for applying a weld alongthe joint between said section and said spiral flight during rotation ofsaid sectionand said night, and. means for coordinatingmovement of saidwelding mechanism relative to said section with'the progress of saidflight during; rotation of said section and said flight.

Ml PATTERSON;

REFERENCES CITED Name Date 1,815,483 Naylor--- sept. 6, 1932 2,041,461Floyd et a1 May 19, 1936 13933-954 Andrew Nov. '7, 1933 2,039,690 Frameri May 5, 1 936

